


A Meta on Willow, Tara, and Magic as Crack or why Tara's death was necessary

by shadowkat67



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Essays, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Meta, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-26
Updated: 2009-06-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22398136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowkat67/pseuds/shadowkat67
Relationships: Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg
Kudos: 1





	A Meta on Willow, Tara, and Magic as Crack or why Tara's death was necessary

Read the following essay today: Here's the link to the essay in case you are interested - <http://amberbenson.yuku.com/topic/2516>. (It's on a Tara fanboard)

The essay basically states that "Tara should not have been killed. Her death did not further Willow's emotional arc in any way. The magic as crack or addictive substance metaphor does not hold up or make any sense, since prior to that it had only been used as a metaphor for "romantic" love and Giles never ever mentioned that it could be additictive or used for dark purposes. And killing Tara off was just lazy writing, as was the build up to it. Also, they go on, to add, in detail, how it supports the Lesbian Cliche (ie. the lesbian in films is killed off)." Yes, I know, we've all read this before, one too many times, and by a lot better essayists - there was one on ATPO Board way back in 2002, who did a rather in depth analysis of the whole thing that was quite convincing at the time - referencing several films and documentaries along the way - at least I think it was ATPO, it may have been BC&S. If you were on any spoiler boards or Buffy fanboards in 2002-2003, you have already heard this argument ad naseum. Not only did you hear it? You probably discussed it. Although many of us, myself included, veered sharply away from it - because emotions were high and one risked being called nasty names. At this point, to those of us who were fans of the show and online in 2002, it is bit like flogging a dead horse. So why, you ask, am I bringing this up again?

Because - I noticed something in my own re-watch of the series regarding magic, metaphors, and Willow - which more or less pokes holes in the entire argument detailed above and changed my mind regarding the weakness/confusion/inconsistency of the "magic as crack" metaphor in S6. I don't believe it is a weak metaphor - never really did, to be honest, and I don't believe it is a sloppy one - if anything, my only quibble is that they got a bit, shall we say, didactic regarding it in 6 and 7, while in earlier seasons they erred on the side of subtlety.

The problem with addiction storylines on television is they have a tendency to come across like Afterschool Specials if you aren't careful. Afterschool Specials for the uninitiated are preachy movies of the week that aired on ABC or CBS during the 1970s and early 1980s, before cable existed and just after school - a la, 3 or 4pm, between cartoons and news. They were hour long morality plays about a kid in trouble. There were a couple of good ones - such as one that was based on the memoir Go Ask Alice, and another based on A Separate Peace. But most were sort of like the flicks we see now on Lifetime or Hallmark channels. Heavy-handed morality tales. I think in a way, the writers were making fun of these "specials about addiction" in season 6. They do go a bit over the top at times - in a way that is almost comical (specifically the removal of all magical perpherinal from the house including candles in Gone - a sort of homage to out of sight out of mind pov. Gone is in a lot of ways a homage to that S1 episode, Out of Sight Out of Mind - about a nerdy girl who disappears, and is literally out of sight and out of mind. Then seeks vengeance on all who made her that way.)

While I may not be fond of certain aspects of the magic arc - from a purely objective pov it does work. The writing is tight, layered, and furthers the arcs of all the characters. Actually Willow's entire arc makes sense, Whedon clearly knew ahead of time what he wanted to do with Willow, and why, because he starts building up to it as far back as Season 1. He just changes a few particulars here and there.

What I also discovered was that "magic as an addictive or dangerous substance" has been a metaphor in the series since the second episode - "Witch". In Witch, we meet Amy and her mother. Amy's mother, we're told, has become addicted to witchcraft - she spends hours in her attic doing spells. The father left them partly because of this. Her mother misses the old days, when she was a cheerleader. So Mom casts a spell and switches bodies with Amy. (Who Are You is not the first time Whedon did the body switch plotline.). Then she casts spells that weaken or sicken all the competitors, almost killing Buffy. Buffy and her friends manage to confront Mom, undo the spell, heal Cordy's blindness, and Buffy, as well as put Amy back in her own body. Mom in a rage attempts to throw Amy or Buffy into a dark place, but instead throws herself there via a mirror that uses to deflect the spell. Willow states in Witch, how this is a horrible thing...and can't imagine doing it. Later, in I Robot, You Jane - Willow gets involved with a demon that she has unwittingly scanned into the computer with the inadvertent aid of a new teacher, a techno-pagan - named Jenny Calendar. The episode introduces us to Jenny - who becomes Giles love interest and Willow's mentor/surrogate Mom.Willow's own parents - we're told - barely notice her. In a way, Willow adopts Giles and Jenny as her new role models/parents - both are magicians in their own right, and both are hiding from their respective pasts. Also in I Robot, You Jane - Willow becomes romantically involved with someone on the computer - a magical being, who promises power. She is momentarily seduced, until he attempts to control her life and kills her friends - then she and her friends fight him.

Season 2 - At the start of Season 2, we are told repeatedly that Willow is hiding. It is in Halloween - when Ethan Raine casts a spell - that Willow becomes transparent and reveals herself. We also learn in Halloween that Giles has a couple dark secrets that he is not sharing. These are revealed in The Dark Age - where we learn that as a youth, Giles and Ethan got addicted to magic. They summoned a demon, who would possess them, and while under the demon's possession - they got high, high on the power and what they could do. Super strength, speed. It was, Giles tells Buffy, an amazing high. That is until they ended up killing someone - then Giles ran away from it, while Ethan ran to it. In the Dark Age - Egon, the demon that possesses them, comes back to collect. He ends up possessing Jenny. Giles' early flirtation with dark magic almost gets Jenny killed. In Band Candy - they refer to the Dark Age again - stating that when Giles was a teenager he was addicted to and experimented with Dark Magic. Later in the season, in Innocence - it is revealed that Jenny Calendar comes from a tribe of Romanian Gypsies who have cursed Angel with a soul. It is a dark and powerful spell that cannot be undone and is meant to make Angel suffer. The moment Angel stops suffering - he loses his soul and becomes the vampire he was. The soul is not about justice, it is not about redeemption, it is about vengenance. It is meant to cause Angel nothing but pain. In Passion, when Jenny attempts to put together the ingredients to resoul Angel (he lost his soul because he experienced a moment of bliss with Buffy), Angelus (soulless) kills her. Later, in Becoming Parts I & II, Willow who has been studying Jenny's spells and practicing them, finds Jenny's translation of the re-ensoulement spell and in a weak and fragil state (she was knocked unconscious, suffered a severe head injury and hospitalize) - does the spell. She does it from her hospital bed. The spell changes her - her eyes go black, her voice changes, she begins to speak in another language. It is not Willow. When Willow does the re-ensouling spell - she is clearly possessed by someone else - much as Giles was in The Dark Age. Giles earlier in the two part episode - in Becoming Part I, as well as Xander, warns that she should be careful - it is a difficult spell and she may open a door she cannot close. It is a warning he repeats to death ears throughout the seasons. OZ, Cordy and Xander are also against her doing the spell, but Willow overrides them.

Meanwhile, earlier in the season, we see Amy again. This time she's practicing witch-craft to get out of doing homework. Xander catchs her at it and blackmails her into doing a spell, which goes horribly wrong in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. Giles chides Amy, stating that she of all people should not be practicing magic.

In Season 3, when we meet Willow again - we learn that the spell has to a degree changed her.She has more power now. She tried a spell and blacked out the entire neighborhood. Giles again warns her to be careful. This happens in Faith, Hope and Trick. In Gingerbread - we see Amy again, and find out Willow has started a coven with Amy and another student. We also learn why in this episode - when she screams at her mother - possibly in an attempt to get attention. In one scene her mother comments on Willow's hair style and Willow states that she got her hair cut ages ago, that her mother has seen it before. Gingerbread is also the episode in which Amy turns herself into a rat and Willow can't figure out how to turn her back. Willow states to Buffy in this episode as well as others how she envies Amy's ability to do such a complicated spell. Gingerbread and Witch are interesting episodes to compare and contrast - in that they both contain Amy, and parents - except here it is Willow who wants to be the witch, partially in order to gain love or approval from her parents.

Then, just a few episodes later, while attempting to do a dangerous delusting spell on herself and Xander, Willow and Xander are captured by Spike, who orders Willow to do a love spell that will enable him to get Dru back. Then in Dopplegangland - Willow is enticed into doing a spell for Anya - because she wants to be rebellious. Even asks if it can be black magic. When the spell goes wrong and Willow finds herself seeing a horrible nighmarish parrelell world - Willow states that the magic is a bit too black for her taste. And finally in Choices - Willow uses magic for good, but also shows lack of control. Giles supports her use for his own ends, but fails to see where it can lead.

In Season 4, OZ and Buffy worry about Willow's use of magic. In Fear Itself - Willow gets upset with Buffy, stating that she isn't just a side-kick, she's a powerful witch in her own right. While OZ chides her, stating, that being a werewolf, he knows first hand that when she uses her magic - she touches something powerful, something that she could potentially lose control of and could take her over. It does in her nightmare in Fear Itself - but is rather tame in comparison to what happens later. A few episodes later - Wild at Heart - Willow comes close to doing a vengence spell on OZ and Veruca, after they sleep together, but changes her mind at the last minute. Skip to Something Blue - where she actually does a dangerous spell that enables certain things that she "wills" to come to true. Her spell almost kills her friends. And D'Hoffryn, the head of the vengeance demons, seeks her out and tries to talk her into becoming one of his demons.

It is not until "Who Are You" - that magic is used to depict a sexual relationship in a postive manner. In A New MAN - the rose explodes when they try a spell. In Hush, they manage to save themselves, little more. But in Who ARe You - magic is used in two ways - one to switch bodies, and one for Willow to travel to the astral plane while Tara grounds her - this is an allusion to sexual intercourse between Tara and Willow. There are maybe ten episodes between this one and Once More With Feeling, when the metaphor is dropped completely, that equate spells with sex.

In the episodes that reference Willow and Tara doing a spell - magic is still being used to a degree as a metaphor for power - but in each instance it is power shared, not power taken or consumed. Tara is sharing her power with Willow. In "HUSH" - Tara helps Willow move the vending machine in front of the door - by sharing her power or combining it with Willow's. Willow doesn't take the power from Tara by force. It is given, shared. The metaphor is in a way similar to the vampire one - which is equally used in this fashion. When the vampires bite - it is sex as violence, rape, penetration - taking what is not given freely. Except in Graduation Day - an erotic sequence between Buffy and Angel - where she gives herself freely to him, but Angel is an addict, when he takes freely - he cannot stop, and almost drains her dry - killing her. Here, with magic, Willow gets a bit drunk on it - and when she does so, she takes from the other person, drains them, as opposed to merely sharing. Sex, as many people know, can be addictive and destructive. It is not sex in of itself that is. Buffy is a horror series in which the writers depict the horrific consequences of something normal - such as having sex with your lover - going horribly wrong. Buffy has sex with Angel - he turns into an obsessive boyfriend who wants to carve her into his demonic plaything. Buffy gives her blood to Angel to save his life, he almost kills her. Willow falls in love with a boy, he turns into a werewolf. Willow falls for Tara, shares magic with Tara, gets more powerful and drunk on the power - the power allows her to hide from her insecurities, her fear of being uncool, the nerd. Tara loves that nerd. Willow doesn't. She hides in magic and the magic almost destroys her.

By the time we reach Season 6, which I haven't gotten to in my rewatch yet, so memory is a tad hazy in places, Willow is literally drunk on her power. She tries to go cold turkey, but the power she has and is drunk on is not associated with Tara and goes further back than Tara. If she had been involved with OZ or Xander or Kennedy and they'd been killed by Warren's ricocheting bullet - Willow would still have sought venegeance and gone dark. She does in Season 6, the same thing she did in Becoming, Lover's Walk, Dopplegangland, Something Blue, and the episode in which Tara gets brainsucked by Glory - she goes after vengeance. It's what she was taught to do by Giles and Jenny. And it is partly why she bonds with and understands Anya in Selfless...helping Anya by calling D'hoffryn and forcing him to give Anya the choice to let go of vengeance. It is Willow ironically who brought Anya to Sunnydale with her flirtation with Xander that poor Cordelia stumbled upon, and it is Willow who ironically helps her.

In Season 7 and even Season 8, we see the same themes played over and over. Willow practices white magic when she shares it, when she isn't attempting to control others, isn't taking power from someone else, and isn't trying to hide - and she practices black magic when she hides, or is drunk on her own power. Amy and Warren are what Willow could become. Warren the mad scientist, with his ability to create robots and Amy the mad witch. Both are embittered nerds - seeking solace in magic or technology. In Season 7 - Willow deals with them both, she becomes Warren, and is cursed by Amy. In Season 6 - it is Amy that tempts her with magic, and it is Warren that drives her over the edge.

It is in Season 7, through her relationship with Kennedy, a female slayer, who like Willow is filled with a force she does not quite understand, that Willow to a degree finds a sense of balance. Willow's problem with Tara wasn't magic, but the fact that she could never quite accept the fact that Tara loved the nerd inside her. This insecurity is revealed in Restless, an episode that doesn't make sense until you have watched the entire series. In that episode - Willow is running from herself. From the nerd she fears that she is. The person who has been rejected. Try as we might, the writer suggests, we never quite leave high school - our insecurities follow us into adulthood. Or at least Willow's has followed her. Tara states in the dream - aren't you worried that they will find out who you are? Tara leaves Willow because Willow demonstrates that she does not trust their relationship or Tara, that she is afraid Tara will leave her because she's not good enough or not worthy. This results in Tara actually leaving. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's ironic because this is Tara's fear in Seasons 4-5. Tara by Season 6, is secure in her relationship with Willow, she no longer fears herself or what she is.

In a non-horror series, characters who are secure in who they are, happy, and not afraid - would live long and happy lives, but in a horror serial - they are dead meat. Their arc is ended and the writer will kill them off to further the story line. Tara's death, does however, make sense - in that it leads to Willow repeating the same mistakes. It melts away Willow's costume, her confidence, and security, showing how fragile she is. How she desperately needs a significant other to make her feel worthwhile.

Willow got her sense of self from OZ, Tara, and now Kennedy. She does not get it from herself. Before OZ, Willow was playing Xander's lap-dog. Insecure. Lacking in confidence. With OZ - she had confidence in herself, learned magic, and felt cool. She took her coolness from OZ. Without OZ - she was uncool. When OZ leaves, she replaces him with Tara, who also makes her feel cool - provides her with a firm sense of self. Shares her power. It is when Tara appears - that Willow starts becoming powerful - as demonstrated in HUSH. Tara augements Willow's abilities. Prior to Tara and OZ, there was Jenny Calendar who mentored Willow and made Willow feel important, valued. And after Tara and OZ, Willow is adrift for a bit, she can't control her power - she's terrified of it, enter Kennedy in Killer in Me, and Willow begins to break the spell. She changes. And by the end, is confident and powerful again, like she was with Tara and OZ. If Kennedy were to die - I can't help but wonder what Willow would do? Can Willow function without someone supporting her, telling her that she is cool?

The magic as crack metaphor covers several themes here - not just addiction to power, but also addiction to another person. The consequences of putting your self-worth onto another's shoulders, for them to support. It also shows how power can corrupt us. Willow is corrupted by the power that fills her at the end of Season 2 - for it is power that comes from vengeance, from a dark place. And it comes at time in which she is weak and vulnerable with little to no protection. That power is hungry, it is not satisfied, and it feeds on Willow's insecurities. Tara, OZ, and Kennedy to a degree balance it. But the power is always there, much like OZ's wolf is always there. OZ got that.

Since Buffy the Vampire Slayer has always used the supernatural as a metaphor for real life - I'm guessing that the magic or power addiction metaphor is not so much about addiction to crack so much as it is about why someone gets addicted to crack. It's about wanting to hide, to feel powerful, to feel numb, to not feel at all. At the end of Season 6 - Willow confesses to Xander that she doesn't want to feel anything, it hurts so much. It is of course Xander who has to save Willow and he does it with the crayon speech, because he is trying to tell her that he does not care that she is nerd or silly or crazy or powerful, he loves her no matter what. From Willow's perspective only OZ and Tara saw her that way, and OZ left, Oz slept with Veruca, so only Tara truly did. When Tara is taken from her, killed, Willow is left adrift, unable to grab hold of anything. She has all this power, enough to bring Buffy back, not once but twice, but not enough to save Tara. We can't control death the writers seem to be saying. We can't hold on to loved ones. And we can't count on them to validate us or provide us with our center or sense of self. We have to do that on our own. Because life is temporary. It's not permanent. And it is unpredictable.

Tara had to die for that theme to be expressed. Without her death - the story would have been about addiction and it's not just about that. It's more complicated than that. The story is about how we use our power, how we grieve, how we choose to see ourselves and the extent to which we use others as mirrors. It is about sharing power, as seen in Same Time Same Place - when Buffy shares her power with Willow and expresses to Willow that it isn't just Tara she can share power with. That power doesn't need to be taken. There are different uses for it.  
She also shows Willow that the power doesn't define us, we define it.

Buffy's power comes from a demon - but as she tells Dracula - I'm not a demon. I walk in the world. And I have friends in the world. I do not let the power define who I am. It is her mantra, from Season 1- Season 7. She tells Willow and Spike the same thing more or less in Get it Done - you can be "dangerous" and "powerful" without being evil. Your power doesn't define you - you define it. A demon may be the source of my power, but it is not the source of me. Willow's power comes from a dark place, but that does not mean Willow is a dark witch and it does not mean she cannot control it. Buffy also refuses to get or take more power, in direct contrast to Willow who takes more from Dawn and Kennedy to enact the spell to bring back Buffy in Get it Done or Spike who searches out a dead slayers jacket as security blanket to get his mojo back. Buffy turns it down. And towards the end of S7, both Spike and Willow, in the school basement stand below and above one another - sharing power with Buffy, they don't take it in - they radiate it out, and it eradicates the darkness - turning Willow's hair a shining white for that moment, and burning away the vampire and undead body Spike's soul is housed within, leaving only light. And finally Buffy, joins Willow and the rest of her human friends in the light, looking at a brand new day.


End file.
